Indian Army Day
Every year 15 January is observed as Indian Army Day because on this day in 1949 field Marshal Kodandera M Cariappa took over as the first Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Army from General Sir Francis Butcher, the last British Commander-in-Chief.
SBI launched an e-Bank Guarantee facility in association with NeSL
- State Bank of India (SBI) has launched e-Bank Guarantee (e-BG) facility in association with National e-Governance Services Limited (NeSL).
- With the advent of e-BG, this function will be replaced by e-stamping and e-signature.
- Currently, the bank issues these guarantees with physical stamping and wet signatures.
- The e-Bank Guarantee procedure will be made easier by NeSL’s Digital Document Execution (DDE) technology, which offers e-Stamp and e-Sign features.
- Beneficiaries using NeSL’s platform will instantly get an e-Bank Guarantee without additional verification. It has taken this initiative to enhance transparency and reduce turnaround time from days to minutes.
Ravi Kumar appointed as CEO of Cognizant
- Former Infosys president, Ravi Kumar has been appointed as the new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Cognizant with immediate effect.
- He has succeeded CEO Brian Humphries, who will be departing from the company on March 15, 2023.
- He was the president and COO of Infosys until October 2022, before leaving the company to join Cognizant the following week as President of Cognizant Americas.
- The IT Giant Cognizant had previously announced the appointment of Ravi as President of Cognizant Americas, which will be given to Cognizant veteran Surya Gummadi.
- He has 20 years of experience in Infosys, where he held various leadership roles.
Santhi Kumari was appointed as the first woman chief secretary of Telangana
- Senior IAS Officer Santhi Kumari has been appointed as the new Chief Secretary of Telangana.
- Kumari, a 1989 batch IAS officer, became the first woman Chief Secretary of Telangana.
- After the DoPT relieved Somesh Kumar from the Telangana cadre, the government appointed Santhi Kumari as the sixth Chief Secretary of the State. She will be in service till April 2025.
- She served at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) for two years overseeing financial inclusion.
- Santhi Kumari worked in the Chief Minister’s Office for four years as Principal Secretary to the CM and headed the ‘Industry Chasing Cell’, which is mandated to implement single window industrial clearances under TS-iPASS.
Captain Surbhi Jakhmola becomes the first woman officer to be posted at BRO
- An officer of the 117 Engineer Regiment of the Indian Army, Captain Surabhi Jakhmola has become the first woman officer of the Border Roads Organization (BRO) to be posted on a foreign project.
- She has been deployed by BRO under Project Dantak in Bhutan.
- The Border Roads Organization (BRO) is an executive road construction force in India that supports the Indian armed forces.
- BRO builds and maintains road networks along India’s borders and in friendly neighbouring countries. It is also included in the armed forces Order of Battle, ensuring their support at all times.
- In order to improve border connectivity, BRO was transferred entirely to the ministry of defence in 2015.
- The Indian Air Force recently deployed Squadron Leader Avani Chaturvedi, a woman fighter pilot, to Japan for Veer Guardian 2023 training.
Thiru Nadesan was awarded Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award in 2023
- Thiru Kumar Nadesan has been awarded the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award for his contribution towards community welfare.
- Nadesan had initiated a fundraiser to assist stranded Indian Citizens in Sri Lanka during the Covid outbreak.
- He actively promotes business and cultural exchanges between India and Sri Lanka.
- He is the second member of Indian diaspora from Sri Lanka to receive the honour.
- A delegation of 30 people from Sri Lanka which is the biggest till date, is attending the Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas convention in Indore.
France captain Hugo Lloris retires from international football
- France team captain Hugo Lloris announced his retirement from international football at the age of 36.
- Lloris represented France in four World Cups and three Euros and captained Les Blues to the World Cup trophy in 2018.
- The 36-year-old holds many records and is France’s most-capped player with 145 appearances to his name.
Prince Harry released his Memoir titled “Spare”
- Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, a member of the British royal family, has released his memoir titled “Spare”.
- The book was written with the assistance of American novelist J. R. Moehringer.
- The book is published by Transworld Publishers Ltd, a division of Penguin Random House.
